Final position — White is winning
Centre Game: Wins a Pawn
White wins in 8 moves with a decisive material gain. (Kirby - Smith, Sunnyvale, CA 1985)
The moves
| 1. | e4 | e5 |
| 2. | d4 | exd4 |
| 3. | c3 | d5 |
| 4. | Qxd4 | Nf6 |
| 5. | Bg5 | Be6 |
| 6. | e5 | h6 |
| 7. | exf6 | hxg5 |
| 8. | fxg7 |
How the Centre Game: Wins a Pawn works
The Centre Game: Wins a Pawn is a classic chess opening trap arising from the Centre Game. In this line White wins decisive material by move 8, punishing a natural-looking but losing idea from Black.
The full sequence runs 1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3 d5 4.Qxd4 Nf6 5.Bg5 Be6 6.e5 h6 7.exf6 hxg5 8.fxg7. Each move looks reasonable, which is exactly why the trap is so effective over the board — Black walks into it while trying to play "normal" developing moves.
This pattern is well known from master and correspondence play (Kirby - Smith, Sunnyvale, CA 1985). Recognising it early lets you either spring it as White or sidestep it as Black.
Practice this trap move-by-move
Open the Centre Game: Wins a Pawn in the Trapsterapp to play it out on a live board, drill it in practice mode, and learn how to avoid it when it's set for you — along with the full library of chess traps and gambits, fully offline.